


All roads lead to where you are

by SomeSortofItalianRoast



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (TV)
Genre: Alcohol, Blind Date, Canon-Typical Violence, Don't copy to another site, Endgame? What Endgame?, Fandom Trumps Hate, M/M, MCU canon has been cherry-picked for juicy bits, Speed Dating, i'd rather over-tag than under-tag....., maybe? - Freeform, minor Steve whump, minor character injury, minor hurt/comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-24
Updated: 2019-11-24
Packaged: 2021-02-18 08:34:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21541411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SomeSortofItalianRoast/pseuds/SomeSortofItalianRoast
Summary: Five times the Avengers didn’t know Steve and Bucky were a couple (+1 time the world learned).This fic is intended to be a humorous look at what it might be like for Steve, if the Avengers decide to “help” him get involved in the modern world by helping him find a date, since they don’t realize that he’s dating Bucky. After a failed blind date, he decides to roll with their efforts and have fun meeting new people.And then video of Bucky kissing him after he’s injured on an Assembly call goes viral.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 24
Kudos: 302
Collections: Fandom Trumps Hate 2019





	1. Natasha; or, the blind date

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Jadesymb](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jadesymb/gifts).



> Thank you to Jadesymb, who donated to RAINN in support of Fandom Trumps Hate, and who was extremely patient with me as I wrote this fic. 
> 
> Thank you to everyone who helped me brainstorm various ideas for this fic. 
> 
> Title is from the song ["Love Comes Tumbling" by U2](https://open.spotify.com/track/326PYGxzqnsbSfd5CrQ8xp?si=D-TM1qS3R2aZQ0hWmn3CJw).  
> Bono, Clayton, Adam C, The Edge, Mullen Jr, Larry J. (1985). Love Comes Tumbling. [Recorded by U2]. On _Wide Awake In America_. [Audio file]. Dublin, Ireland: Island Records.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natasha sets Steve up on a blind date.

_She means well_ , Steve reminded himself. _She wants me to be happy._. He kept kept his thoughts to himself as he studied the beautiful young brunette across the table from him. 

Darcy Lewis was the lead scientist wrangler in the Tower, having been promoted into that position after starting to wrangle all of the scientists who worked in the Tower without being asked (there had been a remarkable drop in the number of times Pepper had asked Steve to collect Tony from his lab after Darcy started wrangling him). Darcy had come to the Tower as the intern slash general assistant for her astrophysicist boss, Dr. Jane Foster, though she soon started feeding and making coffee for Tony and Bruce, as well. After learning that Darcy was being criminally underpaid as an intern, Pepper offered her a job as the lead scientist wrangler and hired Dr. Foster an actual astrophysicist or two as her intern and assistant. Steve suspected that Pepper wanted to put Darcy’s political science degree and social media experience to work with the Avengers press relations and social media accounts as soon as was feasible. Currently, Stark Industries were running the entire show; Steve agreed that the more separation they had from any organization, including S.H.I.E.L.D. and Stark Industries, the more respect they could command. 

Darcy was nice, polite, and was one of the few people Steve knew who looked at him and didn’t see _Captain America_ first, but saw little Steve Rogers instead. She was also the only one who looked at Bucky and didn’t see The Winter Soldier first and foremost. She’d helped Steve adapt to the 21st Century, and was was helping Steve help Bucky adjust to being in the 21st Century, working with him and all of the various support people to teach him things he’d missed while in cryo. She was the person Steve still turned to when he had questions about pop culture or the internet, knowing that not only would she not judge him for not understanding, but that she would take the time to teach him about whatever it was he didn’t understand. He liked her, sure, but he didn’t want to date her. But not for the reason (reasons?) people usually assumed. 

As far as the press and the Avengers were concerned, Steve hadn’t been on a date since he’d been found in the ice and thawed. At first, he’d been too alone in the bright, new, future, the ache of losing everything, everyone, too fresh, too strong. He’d never taken the time to adjust, to live in the moment, to see if he wanted to start dating, to put himself out there (as Tony would say), before he learned that Bucky was alive. After that, after learning that his husband-in-all-but-name was alive, he had no want or reason to date. He should have been more open with his teammates about his relationship with Bucky, letting them know how important he had been and how much his loss at hurt, but the past was too close. There were academic papers speculating about his relationship with Bucky, but he’d never said anything, preferring to keep his personal life, well, personal. He didn’t even have social media pages. 

He’d agreed to meet Natasha for dinner a few weeks ago, making sure Bucky was okay with him meeting her (he knew something of how they’d been in a relationship back when Bucky had been “working” for the Red Room, and while there were no hard feelings, he always double checked with Bucky before he went on what the press might construe as a date, especially with Natasha, since the press loved insinuating that she was dating all of the Avengers), as well as him being out late, since their reservations weren’t until 9pm. He’d looked the restaurant up online and thought it looked a little date-like, but decided not to worry too much about it, since Natasha was in charge of the evening. He dressed nicely, in a pair of well-fitting khakis and a dark blue button up shirt. He threw his leather jacket on top and rode his motorcycle to the restaurant. He got there a bit early, and ordered an Old Fashioned while he waited for Natasha. 

He was half-finished with his Old Fashioned when Darcy showed up. She was apologizing for being late when Steve realized that he’d been set up. It seemed like Natasha had gotten tired of waiting for him to take out one of the many women (and the occasional man) she tried to set him up with and had arranged a blind date. With Darcy. 

It wasn’t that Steve was opposed to dating, not really. He’d never given Natasha a good reason as to why he’d never asked any of those women out, nor the few guys, sticking with his standards “too busy” when asked. At first, the pain was too fresh, the pain of losing everyone he’d known, the grief of losing Peggy, of losing Bucky. He’d never told her that they’d been together, before the War, that Bucky was more to him than a brother. At first, it was simply the fact that, back then, talking about it could have put him in serious danger, from possible jail time to being beaten to death in a dark alley. Even when he learned that gay marriage was legal, that Tony’s playboy ways included male models, that Clint was apparently married to the not-so-dead Phil Coulson, Steve kept quiet about his past, his relationship with Bucky. It didn’t seem necessary to talk about it, not even to his S.H.I.E.L.D. mandated therapist. It was personal, not something that he needed to broadcast anywhere. It didn’t affect his performance as Captain America, his personal life. 

Then he’d met Sam in DC, just before S.H.I.E.L.D. was revealed to have been infested with HYDRA and Bucky was alive. No one questioned why he went on another rampage against HYDRA, chasing any surviving member who knew anything about Bucky and the Winter Soldier. Nor why Bucky immediately moved into his suite in the Tower. Nor when Steve found a brownstone in Brooklyn and they moved in together. Everyone seemed to believe that they were platonic soulmates or something, and Steve… well, Steve never bothered to correct them. It didn’t really matter, did it? 

So, there he was, holding his Old Fashioned in his hand, realization dawning in his eyes. 

“Natasha tell you to meet her here for dinner?” Steve asked with a sigh. 

“Clint told me Natasha wanted to meet me for dinner while she was in town.” Darcy grimaced ruefully. “Guess I should have asked him for more information.” She had some sort of a thing with Dr. Foster’s new intern. 

“Remember when I mentioned how Natasha keeps trying to get me to date? And how I don’t really want to? I think she got fed up and set us up.” A waiter approached to let them know that their table was ready. With a shake of his head and bemused smile, Steve gestured Darcy to proceed him. There was no reason for them not to have dinner together, as they were good friends. She was one of the few who knew about him and Bucky, having been the person to tell him about the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and the Defense of Marriage Act. He’d asked why the gay rights movement hadn’t been in his introduction to the 21st Century packet (and why the Civil Rights Movement had been more or less a footnote), but hadn’t gotten very good answers. Learning that HYDRA was infesting S.H.I.E.L.D., rotting it from the inside out… Well, it made more sense now. 

Once they were seated, Darcy asked him what he wanted her to tell Natasha about their “date” when Natasha ambushed her about it. They both knew that that was going to happen, once Natasha got back to the Tower from wherever she was. 

Steve said that he was fine with Darcy telling Natasha that neither one of them was happy that she’d set him up, but asked her not to tell Natasha about Bucky, wanting to tell his teammates himself. Darcy gave him a funny look and said that it was incredibly bad form to “out” one’s friends, though she had to explain what “outing” meant. She also offered to help Steve craft his statement to the press, should he want to officially “come out” at some point. They talked a bit about role models and what might happen if there was an “out” superhero, especially one like Captain America. From their conversations, Steve knew that he’d probably have to “come out” at some point, though he wanted to wait until he and Bucky were in a position to handle the blowback from the press. 

They hugged as they left the restaurant, Steve saying that he looked forward to seeing her again. They went back to their homes separately - Darcy to the floor she shared with Thor and Dr. Foster at the Tower and Steve to the townhouse he shared with Bucky - and waited for Natasha to ask them how their date went. Darcy promised to tell Natasha what she thought about the unwanted blind date, preferably in front of Tony and Bruce, in exchange for Steve giving her the address to his townhouse, so she could meet with Bucky outside of the Tower. She also promised to send Steve the video of her talking with Natasha. Steve hoped was to get Bruce on his side about the fact that he didn’t want Natasha setting him up, and hopefully Bruce would be able to rein in some of Tony’s worst impulses when he learned that Natasha was setting him up.

Three days later, Natasha surprised Steve in the kitchen on the common floor when he was making pancakes, asking him about his date with Darcy. He’d seen the video of Darcy loudly talking with Dr. Foster about how much she hated being set up, since she’d had such bad experiences with blind dates in the past. Natasha had been not-so-secretly eavesdropping and had heard every word.

Barely glancing up from his batter, Steve told her that he was annoyed that she hadn’t listened to him, since he’d said he didn’t need or want her matchmaking help. Instead of pushing him for a reason, she gave him a contemplative look. Steve shrugged and went back to his batter, adding some to the hot pan. It didn’t really matter what she thought. If she tried to set him up with anyone else, he’d try to remember that it was fun to meet new people, and she would stop trying to set him up with other people, maybe sooner rather than later. Hopefully, she wouldn’t arrange any more blind dates.


	2. Clint; or, Grindr

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint sets Steve up with some hook up apps

Several weeks after the failed blind date with Darcy, Steve was feeling confident that he’d successfully convinced Natasha that he didn’t want her to keep setting him up. Looking back, he should have realized that she wasn’t going to stop trying to set him up, but that she would change her methods. 

It all started after a team movie night, when one of the characters used Grindr. Clint paused the movie to ask if Steve knew what Grindr was, and that quickly devolved into a conversation about “hook-ups” and “hook-up” culture. Steve reminded Tony that they had casual sex when he was growing up, but otherwise ignored the conversation and concentrated on his sketchbook. He’d been doing more drawings recently, feeling more at ease in this new, loud, century since Bucky’s return. 

A few days after movie night, Clint popped into the common area, where Steve was sitting on the couch, reading a book while Bucky met with Tony for a tune-up on his arm. Clint hopped onto the back of the couch, grabbed Steve’s phone, unlocked it, and started rapidly typing something. Steve didn’t bother to wonder how Clint knew his unlock code or his password (it looked like Clint was downloading and installing an app of some sort), though he did wonder what sort of app Clint was installing on his phone.

“So, Cap, I was thinking about our conversation during movie night, that got me to thinking about how things have changed. Like, how did people hook up when you were doing it?” 

Steve looked at Clint over his book, a bemused smile on his face. “They tended to go to the right bars, wear the right clothes, and say the right things,” he said, wondering if Clint would realize that he was talking specifically about gay men in the 30s. 

“Huh, well, that’s interesting. Anyway, Natasha wanted me to teach you the ways of the modern hook up, so I’ve installed both Grindr and Tinder on your phone, and created a profile for you. Tinder for women, Grindr for men, more or less. You know that men can date men and women can date women safely, right?” Clint didn’t wait for Steve’s reaction, continuing on with, “I thought there was going to be an issue when Coulson and I started dating, but all we had to do was sign some paperwork that lets me report directly to Hill, so there’s no conflict of interest in any disciplinary meetings.”

“Thank you, Clint, for that, but it’s really not necessary.” Steve reclaimed his phone and slid it into his pocket without looking at the apps. He’d need to delete them at some point. “If I wanted to “hook up” I would. I’m not particularly interested in that.”

“Not interested in the apps, casual sex, or sex in general?” Clint asked. He sounded serious, like the answer mattered to him. Steve looked up from his book, and saw that he looked serious. “Not everyone’s into sex, Cap, no matter what Tony might want you to believe. And not everyone who’s into sex is into casual sex. Then there are people who don’t experience sexual attraction unless they have an emotional connection…” Clint trailed off, taking in the slightly bewildered look on Steve’s face. “I take it this was missing from your “Welcome to the 21st Century” pamphlet?”

“Most of the civil rights movement was missing,” Steve admitted with a sigh. “Darcy helped me figure out what was missing and learn about it. Then she helped Bucky, without having to be asked. It’s one of the reasons I appreciate her so much. ”

“We all love Darcy, don’t we?” Clint asked. “Ask her for some literature on the various sexualities and genders out there. I’m happy to work with you on them, too.”

“Thanks, Clint,” Steve said, making a mental note to ask Darcy at some point, once he’d done some research himself. Clint smiled and hopped off the back of the couch as the elevator dinged and Bucky stepped out. 

Bucky headed straight for Steve, who stood and embraced him. Getting his arm worked on was still difficult for Bucky - though Tony being Tony helped - and some tune-ups were easier than others. After a few moments, Bucky relaxed his grip on Steve, and stepped back. 

“Ready to head back to Brooklyn?” Steve asked, already gathering his small bag and heading for the elevators. Bucky nodded and followed him. Steve wrapped his arm around Bucky’s shoulder, hand resting at the back of his neck. The position always felt a little awkward, but Bucky relaxed into his touch. The elevator doors opened, they stepped in, the doors closed, and Bucky slumped into Steve’s grip, Steve’s hands coming around to cradle Bucky to him. He pressed a kiss to the top of Bucky’s head as they rode down to the lobby.


	3. Thor; or, Singles’ Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor takes Steve to a bar. For Singles' Night

Steve should have realized what was coming when Thor bounded into the common area, excitedly saying that he had just discovered this new Midgard tradition and needed to take Dr. Foster there. Immediately. Steve didn’t get all of the details, but there was something about a bar and a competition. 

Steve, like the rest of the Avengers present in the common area, thought Thor was talking about a drinking competition. Tony asked Thor if he was sure Jane was up for that sort of competition, and when told she was, scoffed and asked if they wanted an escort, adding that Steve was a perfect designated driver. He explained what a designated driver was as Steve put his book away and checked in with Bucky, letting him know that he’d been roped into going to a bar with Thor. Looking down upon the sparkling city of Manhattan, on the phone, Steve missed Thor winking at Tony and Tony’s resulting smirk. 

With a sigh, Steve asked Thor when he wanted to leave to go to the competition. He wasn’t very interested in watching Thor partake in a drinking contest, and he certainly wasn’t looking to _competing_ in a drinking contest. Hopefully, Thor was mistaken, and the competition at the bar was something more along the lines of bingo or poker. He pulled on his leather jacket as they waited for Dr. Foster to make her way to the common floor, and left shortly thereafter.

The bar Thor had found was a short walk from the Tower, something Steve was glad about. He wasn’t particularly worried about Thor getting into a bar fight, but if they needed backup for whatever reason, the Avengers weren’t far away. He missed the chalkboard sign in front of the bar when he had to pull his ID out of his wallet, unused to being “carded” when he went into a bar. Jane giggled at something Thor said as she handed over their IDs. Steve still wasn’t sure what sort of strings Fury had pulled to get Thor a valid ID; the other option was that Tony had hooked _Thor_ up with a fake ID, which was both too funny and too depressing to think about. Steve’s ID always got a second look, since it had his real birthdate of July 04, 1918, on it. A bright light in his face let him know that the bouncer was closely comparing his face to the picture on the ID. The first bouncer showed his ID to the other bouncer, who snorted a laugh, and pressed a stamp on the back of Steve’s right hand, explaining that this way they’d be able to buy drinks at the bar, having been verified at the door as over 21. 

Once inside the bar, Steve was relieved to see no signs of a drinking competition, though he wasn’t sure why there was a projector screen pulled down and people clustered in front of a computer attached to the projector. Steve realized that there was some sort of formal event happening just as one of the organizers came up to them and asked if they were here to play. 

Steve tried to shake his head, unsure of what the event was, when Thor boomed that they were very interested in joining in on the game, or the “quaint Midgardian competition” as he called it. He slapped Steve on the shoulder, stating that Steve was in need of pairing. Steve staggered slightly under the force of what Thor considered gentle jostling between friends, and missed what Thor meant by “in need of pairing.” He did not miss how the organizer’s eyes lit up, or how he was dragged across the bar to a table with three young women at it. 

“Ladies, this is Steve,” the organizer said, “he’s rounding out your team today.” The organizer smiled at everyone and left Steve standing there. The women smiled up at Steve as they introduced themselves. 

“Tina,” said the one with the dyed purple hair. 

“Jill,” said the pretty blonde.

“Marie,” said the redhead. “Did you get set up by a friend?”

“Is it that obvious?” Steve asked, smiling. He was glad they seemed to realize that he didn’t know what was going on. “I’m not sure what’s going on.” He cautiously sat down at the table. 

“It’s bar trivia night,” Tina explained, glancing at her friends. “There are usually 10 rounds and 10 questions per round. Top three teams get a prize, as does one other team, chosen by the emcee.” 

“It’s… It’s also singles night,” Jill said. “That’s why the organizer was so excited to see you. There’s never enough single men who come to singles trivia night.” 

Steve sighed, suddenly realizing that he’d been completely set up by Thor, and excused himself to the bar, where he ordered an Old Fashioned. He handed the bartender his credit card, telling him to keep the tab open, and drank his Old Fashioned with quick swallows, not savoring it like he usually would. He ordered another one, and took a small, savoring, sip, before heading back to his “team” for trivia night. Tina, Jill, and Marie, were pleased to see that he’d come back, and were happy to explain how the trivia night worked. 

They said that they didn’t know the categories, but that there was usually a variety of categories, from sports to history to pop culture. Some of the categories were pictures, and sometimes there were extra points available, such as being able to name the title or author of a book, or the actor of a character for a movie or television category. They named their team after Maria’s suggestion of “TiJiMa Plus One”, and got ready for the emcee to start the trivia game. They didn’t have to wait long, various organizers walking around and making sure that everyone had slips of paper to record their answers, and pens to write with. 

The emcee got everyone started, going over the rules of trivia night, and explaining the categories. Tonight’s were Baseball Statistics, Finish the Movie quotes, Heroes of the Space race (which was an “images” category), Hops Malt and Wort, BBC Television shows, Title the book based on the Emojis, Irish history, World War II, Harry Potter Wanted Posters (name the character, not the book), and finally a wild card round about Shakespeare, meaning that there could be any type of question within the round. There were 10 rounds, and scores would be announced at the end of each round. Steve settled in for the long haul, knowing that he wasn’t going to do well with some of the categories. 

Overall, despite his frustration at being set up at singles trivia night, Steve had a good time. The team did well enough to come in in third place, winning them vouchers for free drinks. He also got Tina, Jill, and Marie’s numbers for future trivia nights. Not during singles nights, since they wanted to compete as a trivia team. They were dismayed to hear that he was dating someone (something about all the good ones being taken), but were glad to hear that he’d had fun doing trivia with them, even if his friend had set him up. Tina blew him a kiss as they left, promising to text him later. He settled his tab, and let Thor know that he was ready to go home. Thor agreed, asking Steve if he had a fun night with his new lady friends. Steve shook his head as he grinned ruefully at Thor.

Instead of walking back to the Tower with Thor and Jane, Steve took the subway out to Brooklyn. He slipped into the townhouse he shared with Bucky, slipping his shoes off at the door, and hanging his jacket on the coat rack, before brushing his teeth and changing into pajamas. He slipped into bed, and cuddled up with Bucky, who made a sleepy sound and snuggled into Steve’s embrace.


	4. Chapter 4: Bruce; or, Speed Dating

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce takes Steve speed dating.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to “mags” for the idea.

Three weeks later, Bruce approached Steve and asked if he was free on Saturday. He claimed that Tony had signed him up for a speed dating event, and wanted to know if Steve was willing to go along with him. After Thor had taken him to Singles Trivia Night at a bar, Steve realized that Natasha had roped the various Avengers into attempting to get him to date. He hadn’t been sure about Clint, since setting up profiles on Tinder and Grindr seemed like the sort of thing Clint would do because he thought it would be funny for _Captain America_ to lie about his age on a hook-up app. Thor hadn’t acted very interested in the trivia competition at the bar, decided to watch Steve and Tina, Jill, and Marie all night. It had annoyed Steve, before he decided to have fun and ignore Thor and Jane. He enjoyed getting to know the women over the course of the night, and had even gotten their various numbers. They’d made plans to meet up at another trivia night, something Steve looked forward to. While he wouldn’t put it past Tony to sign Bruce up for speed dating as a joke, he wouldn’t expect Bruce to agree to go to the event, even if he brought someone along as emotional support. 

Steve hesitated, considering “coming out” to Bruce about his relationship with Bucky, before deciding that it would be more interesting to see what Bruce and Tony had planned. He’d had fun at playing the trivia game, he’d made friends with his trivia team, and he was looking forward to their next competition. Perhaps he’d find some more friends at the speed dating event. With that in mind, Steve agreed to go with Bruce to the bar on Saturday. Bruce thanked him and wandered back into his lab. Steve called Bucky to let him know that he’d been roped into going speed dating with Bruce, and then went to find Darcy. He wasn’t quite sure what to expect, and figured Darcy could give him some ideas of what speed dating would be like. He popped into Dr. Foster’s lab to chat, and then headed to the kitchen on the common floor to help Darcy put together lunches for the various scientists.

They chatted about speed dating, as well as how Steve could “come out” publicly, if that was something he was interested in doing. He could post pictures of himself and Bucky on social media and let social media do its thing, or he could go on a talk show (Darcy suggested Ellen or Stephen Colbert, lamenting that Jon Stewart had been off the air for years). She offered to put an informational packet together for him to research various talk show hosts to see who he’d like better, as well as some information about using social media. She offered to make sure he had good Twitter and Instagram accounts, promising to set up any he wanted when she met with Bucky for their next history tutoring session. Steve helped her carry lunch up to the scientists, and left the Tower to head back to Brooklyn. 

Saturday came quickly, and soon Steve and Bruce were taking the subway to a bar in Queens for a speed dating event. This one looked pretty lowkey from what Steve had seen on the website, making Steve believe that Bruce might have chosen the location, even if Tony had scheduled it. They signed in, Bruce saying that their registration was under “Stark,” got their hands stamped for alcohol sales, and picked up the paperwork that would allow them to complete their registration. Steve finished his paperwork, handed it back, and went to get himself an Old Fashioned at the bar. 

Speed dating itself wasn’t horrible. He and Bruce were part of the group that sat at the same table during the first half of the event. Apparently, the men stayed seated while the women rotated from table to table. He got another Old Fashioned, found his table, picked up his clipboard, and waited. 

At the end of the night, they returned their clipboards to the organizers, marking down whoever they wanted contact information from. The rules stated that both parties had to put each other down before contact information was exchanged, to help protect people from having their phone numbers fall into the hands of people they wouldn’t have given it to.

Steve wouldn’t say that he had fun at the event - not like at the trivia game - but it wasn’t as bad as he’d expected. He was nice to everyone, telling them (truthfully) that he was in a relationship, and was only there as emotional support for Dr. Banner. They were sympathetic, and some of the women were happy to have a few minutes when they didn’t have to fend off any creeps. A few recommended some things for him to add to his list, while others wanted to chat about what life was like during the Depression. One of the latter was a middle school history teacher, and they made plans for Steve to come and speak to her class in the upcoming weeks. Steve told her to email him with a few dates at her convenience, and he would check his calendar for one that would work for both of them. 

Steve and Bruce took the subway back to Stark Tower, Steve talking about how much he was looking forward to talking to the middle school class. When Bruce asked if he wanted to get contact information from any of them, Steve shook his head, saying it was nice to meet them, but he was happy with his current relationship status. Bruce didn’t push, didn’t say anything other than that he’d had fun meeting new people in a low-stakes situation, and was willing to go again, if Steve wanted to. Steve laughed, saying he’d think about it. 

Having safely escorted Dr. Banner back to the Tower, Steve took the subway out to Brooklyn and Bucky. Bucky was watching a movie, so Steve changed into his lounge clothes, and settled onto the couch, pulling Bucky against him.


	5. Chapter 5: Tony; or, EHarmony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony sets Steve up with an EHarmony account.

It took longer than Steve would have expected for Tony to do whatever it was that he was going to do. He’d figured out how to delete his profiles and accounts on both Tinder and Grinder, before deleting the app from his phone. His “winks” and messages has been out of control before he did that, something that annoyed him about the apps. 

Bruce had quietly asked him about his relationship, wanting to know what Steve meant about being happy with his current relationship status, and Steve had told him how he’d been with Bucky since before the War. Bruce nodded, apologized for taking Steve speed dating, and asked if he wanted him to head off Tony. Steve laughed and saying that he’d enjoyed some of the things that his team had done to help him find a romantic partner, once he’d decided to have fun at the events, and had made some new friends in this strange new world. He was meeting the women he’d met at the bar at a bookstore next week for something called “book trivia,” and had set a date to go and speak about growing up in the Depression and World War II with the middle school history teacher’s class. 

Bruce had smiled, saying he was glad that Steve got something out of the things he was doing, and hoped that the team would soon realize that they weren’t being successful because Steve was already in a relationship. They talked for a while, and Steve asked Bruce his opinions on “coming out” and if he thought Steve should be more public about his relationship with Bucky. 

Bruce nodded, saying that having more positive role models was never a bad thing, and Steve was the perfect person to be considered a positive role model. They discussed various political things that were happening, and Steve admitted that he wasn’t ready, that to him, it was still outright dangerous to be open about being gay, but that he would be happy to be that positive role model, once he was ready. 

Bruce left after asking Steve to make sure he told him what Tony had planned, since Tony was the only Avenger left who hadn’t done anything to encourage Steve to date. Steve laughed, said he would let Bruce know, and that he hoped Tony wasn’t planning on bringing escorts (high class or otherwise) to the Tower as part of his thing. 

A few days later, Steve learned he shouldn’t have bothered, when Tony wandered into the common lounge, rapidly tapping away on a tablet. He settled into the chair next to Steve, and started asking him a variety of personal questions, seemingly oblivious to the awkwardness of the situation. Steve wasn’t sure what Tony was doing, so he answered the questions as honestly as he could, going so far as to discuss his perfect date, his ideal partner, and any kinks he wanted people to know. At the last question, Steve looked at Tony over his book and asked what exactly he was doing. 

Tony handed over the tablet, explaining that, since Steve didn’t seem to like the hookup apps or the speed dating, that there were dating websites, where “sabermetrics are used to calculate compatibility, so that you’ll know what your probability of being compatible is before you even decide to meet a potential match. I created my own sabermetric program, but I needed a baseline of data, and EHarmony has the best data pool available for my program.”

Steve glanced at the profile, seeing how Tony had added in what he’d said, without embellishing too much, though Tony had set up the profile so that Steve wasn’t obviously Captain America, but a young, recently separated Army veteran from Brooklyn named Grant. Tony had taken the time to make a usable profile and, had Steve been interested in having an EHarmony profile, it would have been almost perfect. 

“I don’t think I understood most of what you said there, Tony, but thank you, this is very thoughtful,” Steve said, handing Tony back the tablet. He made a mental note to delete the profile later, since it was unnecessary. “If the program you created works, you could add it to the long list of things SI sells.”

“Not sure we need to go into the online dating business,” Tony said with a smile. “But I’ll hold it in reserve in case Pepper says we need a new Valentine’s Day special or something. She did not not like my last suggestion of sex toys.” Steve laughed, picturing the look on Pepper’s face, since that sort of thing was very much something Tony would do in a full board meeting. 

“You mentioned sabermetrics,” Steve said after he stopped laughing. “That sounded interesting. What are they?” Tony’s eyes lit up.

“They have many uses, but are typically used to analyze empirical statistics in baseball. The analysis can then be applied and used to predict future performance based on the empirical statistics. They’ve been around since the mid-1800s, but were popularized in the early 2000s when the Oakland Athletics used them to acquire undervalued players and won a record number of games for the franchise.” Tony continued to talk about statistics, something Steve didn’t know much about, though he understood why they were important for baseball, and how sabermetrics could be used to help the little guy win against the big guy.


	6. Bucky; or The Late Show

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After being injured during an Avengers' callout, Steve appears on _The Late Show with Stephen Colbert_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Steve's injury happens on screen. It's bloodless, but he's in pain. Bucky, Thor, and Tony help him get to Medical, and Drs. Cho and Strange fix him right up. He's completely fine after he's fixed up. Please see details in end note (spoilers).

It wasn’t intentional, how the public found out about Steve and Bucky. It wasn’t part of the plan, created by Steve and Darcy with input from Bucky and Bruce, for Steve to “come out”. It wasn’t how Steve intended to tell his team that he and Bucky were an item. It might not have been the plan, but it was effective. 

The plan had been for Steve to tell the team, before posting a picture to his new, verified, Twitter. Darcy had approved the picture - a simple one of them holding hands, Bucky’s metal hand contrasting against Steve’s gloved hand - both for his first tweet and for the purposes of his “coming out”. They were ready for the media circus they knew was going to happen, and Steve planned to make use of some of his standing invitations to appear on several late night talk shows. 

But, as would say the poet Robert Burns about the best laid plans, they go oft awry. No one could have foreseen Steve being shot by a remote controlled drone during the next Avengers callout, crumpling to the ground, Thor landing a fraction of a second too late, lightning flashing to destroy all of the drones in the vicinity, even as Bucky screamed through the comms. Thor guarded Steve, keeping the drones away from him, until Tony did something that knocked them out remotely. As the last drone was still falling to the ground, Tony yelling something along the lines of “suck it, Hammer,” Bucky was already making his way to Steve, who still hadn’t moved. 

Bucky used a grappling hook, rappelling quickly down from his sniper’s next, getting to Steve’s side as the dust was still settling. The whine of repulsers told him that Tony was there, already scanning Steve, who moaned in pain and tried to roll over. 

“What happened?” he asked, his voice barely more than a whisper. 

“You’ve been shot, Cap,” Tony told him. “Try to stay calm, and don’t move. I’ve alerted Medical.”

“Hurts.” Steve’s breathing was ragged. 

“That’s because the bullets are still in you and you need Dr. Cho to get them out without hurting you any more than you already are.” Tony gently but forcefully kept Steve from trying to sit up. “Bucky, Thor, I need you to help me keep him steady as we get him onto the stretcher.” Medical appeared at his elbow, and Thor helped Bucky roll Steve onto a backboard, and then onto the stretcher. Clint’s voice came through the comms, saying that he was going to take Steve to medical on the quinjet, pick up Dr. Stephen Strange at the Sanctum Sanctorum and drop him off at the Tower, and come back for the team. 

“The faster we can get him to Cho, the quicker he’ll heal.” Clint sounded serious. Thor and Tony were running with medical, helping keep the stretcher as stable as possible, Bucky running after them. The got to the quinjet, and Bucky grabbed right Steve’s hand, squeezing it tightly. 

“I’ll be fine, Buck,” Steve slurred slightly, eyes tight with pain. “Go help Tony with the clean-up.” Bucky tightened his grip on Steve’s hand, and leaned forward, pressing his forehead against Steve’s, breathing him in. After a few heartbeats, he pressed a kiss to Steve’s lips. Steve’s left hand came up, burying itself in Bucky’s hair. They kissed until Steve made a pained sound and Bucky pulled away, letting Steve’s hand slide from his as he was loaded into the quinjet. He watched the quinjet take off silently, wishing he could go with Steve, but knowing that, with both Steve and Clint unavailable, he needed to stay and help with the clean-up. Plus, Helen Cho had a strict “no lurking” policy for Avengers - they could see their teammate once they were out of surgery. 

They were photographed, Bucky kissing Steve as he was being loaded into the quinjet, Iron Man and Thor standing off to the side, Hawkeye’s purple boots visible at the top of the ramp. Steve’s star spangled uniform was clearly visible, and Bucky’s left hand was curled around his shoulder, leaving no doubt about the identity of the person passionately kissing an injured Captain America. Instead of a controlled social media release, the footage of Steve getting shot and going down, the footage of Bucky kissing him as he was being loaded into the quinjet, went viral. It didn’t take long for Steve to have invitations to every major news program in the United States, most of the talk shows, and some of the comedy shows. 

Doctors Cho and Strange made sure that Steve healed nicely - not even a scar - and he was soon cleared for light duty while he finished healing. “Light duty” included doing various press appearances. It wasn’t the first time Steve had been injured as an Avenger, and it wasn’t his first time doing the press tour after an injury. It was, however, his first time going viral. 

From his hospital bed, before he was released from the Avengers medical facility, he and Darcy did what felt like damage control on the video clips, releasing the planned photograph of Steve and Bucky. They set Bucky up with a Twitter, got him a verified account, and Steve tagged him in a few tweets about their relationship, including tongue in cheek comments about how that wasn’t how he wanted to come out to his team, much less the world. While most of the feedback was positive, Darcy refused to let Steve get into fights on Twitter until Dr. Cho cleared him, saying it was bad for his blood pressure. 

He started accepting invitations, agreeing to appear on a handful of news programs, some talk shows and a few comedy shows in the United States and beyond (he was actively looking forward to appearing on Graham Norton, along with Oscar Isaac and David Tennant). First up was _The Late Show with Stephen Colbert_. No, first up was telling Bucky he had a verified Twitter account. Then Stephen Colbert. 

Tapings for _The Late Show_ happened at the Ed Sullivan Theatre in Manhattan. As Tony’s black town car pulled around the block, Steve realized that he’d heard of the theatre, back before the war, when it was called a variety of things, including Hammerstein's Theatre and the Manhattan Theatre. He and Bucky used to listen to the CBS broadcasts from the building on the radio Bucky had picked up for a dime and put back together. He’d never been inside, though he’d heard about the renovations and how the building was supposed to have been restored to its former neo-gothic glory. 

Once inside, he and Bucky were brought quickly to the green room, where they met Colbert before being sent to hair and make-up. Once back in the green room, they listened to the opening monologue, as well as his segments on various topics. Soon, as expected, he switched to the reason Steve was backstage - the video footage. Colbert’s voice turned serious as he talked about the fight, giving some background on the animosity between Stark and Hammer, before showing the video of Steve getting shot by the drone. Unlike most airings of the footage, Colbert’s was unedited, clearly showing how Steve didn’t move for almost a minute, and even the slight panic on Stark’s face as he scanned him. It was painful for Bucky to watch, but he understood why Colbert felt the need to show the entire footage - it was part of the story. Colbert proceeded to lighten the mood by showing a heavily edited clip, one where Steve was “mauled” by an extremely large and playful kitten who sat on him until Stark shooed it off. 

“I know which clip I like better,” Colbert said, laughing. “But that’s not what’s going viral. Well, Captain America getting shot by a drone owned by Hammer would probably go viral, if only for the novelty of Hammer Tech actually working. I jest. No, the reason this clip is going viral is the video that was posted to Twitter, with a timestamp of about a minute after this clip, showing an injured Captain America making out with the Winter Soldier.” Colbert showed that video, also unedited. 

“What a way to come out to the world, Captain,” he said, “I mean, if you’re going to come out, might as well do it with a bang, huh? On that note, my surprise guest.”

Colbert stood from behind his desk and wandered over to where Steve and Bucky were standing, having been directed by one of the stage hands. Colbert talked about his surprise guest, making several puns and a few not-so-subtle hints that it was Captain America. With a flourish, the curtain came up, timed to Colbert announcing that his “special guests were Captain America and his boyfriend, the Winter Soldier.” Steve flashed his paparazzi smile, making a show of shaking Colbert’s hand, while Bucky managed not to glare at the audience. 

The interview went very well, with Steve making the audience laugh when he explained that the only reason he and Bucky were on the show was because Jon Stewart was off the air, causing Colbert to pout theatrically at the camera. When asked why he hadn’t come out earlier, he explained that he hadn’t ready, that the homophobia of his youth was still with him to this day. 

“Besides the video going viral, what prompted you to come out now?” Colbert asked. 

“My teammates have spent the last few months trying to convince me to join the modern world and date. The Black Widow set me up on a blind date, the Hulk took me speed dating, and Hawkeye even installed Grindr on my phone, if you can imagine. I met some very interesting people during these attempts, and I spent some time thinking. It’s always been important for people, especially young people to have role models, to have someone to look up to.”

“That’s not something you had?” 

“When I grew up, people were sent to prison if they were suspected of being gay,” Steve said. He’s practiced until “gay” or “lgbt” came as fluidly as “queer” or similar (words he’d been told were long out of fashion). “That was if they weren’t beaten to death in a back alley. Things have changed so much, but to me, the threat of jail was far too close.”

“Do you identify as gay?” 

“Bisexual,” Steve said with a smile. “We didn’t have a word for that, back when I was growing up and coming to terms with who I was and who I loved. I loved Peggy with all my heart, that wasn’t a cover.”

“Were you shocked or surprised when you learned about Angie Martinelli?” Colbert asked, referencing the recent biography, with a forward by Peggy herself, that had been released a year after her death. It explained why there weren’t any photographs of her special someone in her nursing home - Angie Martinelli had died in the 1980s, and Peggy never revealed their relationship prior to the biography. 

“Angie Martinelli?” Steve shook his head. “Not at all. I wish I’d gotten the chance to meet her, but I was busy being an ice cube.”

“And I was a prisoner of war,” Bucky said, speaking for the first time. He’d told Steve that he would join him on the various shows, but that he didn’t really want to speak. He seemed to throw Colbert off his game for a moment, but the comedian quickly recovered.

“Were the two of you together, before the war?”

“Yes.” Bucky’s reply was short. 

“We only had the one bed,” Steve said. “People are oblivious; they always have been.” 

“That they have been,” Colbert agreed. They spent a few minutes talking about their life during the depression, before Colbert announced that it was time for a quick commercial break. During the break, Colbert explained that there was going to be a comedy sketch with them next, followed up by his musical guest. They went back on air, and Colbert announced the comedy sketch, which involved handing Steve and Bucky puppies to raise awareness for animal shelters. They giggled their way through the comedy sketch (something involving guessing the missing word in rock lyrics), and listened to the musical guest perform their lead single off their new album. The musicians (some band from Ireland that Steve was reasonably sure he’d heard Tony mutter about) joined them, shaking hands with Steve and Bucky, the frontman taking a puppy from Bucky. They answered a few questions about their new album, and the show was over. 

Steve and Bucky returned to the Tower, settling down on the couch in the common area. Steve flipped the TV on, and poked around Tony’s seemingly unlimited channels until he found a baseball game. The Avengers joined them, one by one, settling themselves down on the various couches and chairs with food. Natasha passed Steve a bowl of popcorn with rosemary, and Clint threw peanut M&Ms at him. 

After the game was over, Steve and Bucky left the Tower to head back to their Brooklyn townhouse. They took the subway and got off a few stops early to enjoy the crisp air, strolling leisurely, holding hands. Once back home, they got ready for bed, and cuddled up together in bed, Steve was a book and Bucky with his tablet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Steve is shot during the mission, and Drs. Cho and Strange have to operate to get the bullets out. He's injured enough that he doesn't move for a short time after being shot, but he's completely fine after surgery. The footage of him being injured (along with Bucky kissing him) goes viral, and both are replayed on _The Late Show with Stephen Colbert_.


End file.
